- Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is on the hunt for a home in the capital city, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Those people said he wants to be closer to the Trump administration as it decides how to deal with the technology sector.
Relationships are complicated. President Donald Trump once threatened to jail Mark Zuckerberg for life if he interfered with the latest presidential election. Separately, the Meta founder and chief executive made the call to lock Trump’s accounts in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot.
But things have changed, especially since Trump’s victory. The two had dinner together at Mar-a-Lago the night before Thanksgiving. Meta donated $1 million for the president’s inauguration—and Zuckerberg had a prime spot for it, seated behind the Trump family and next to other technology billionaires, such as Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai, and Elon Musk. He even cohosted an inauguration reception with other Republican billionaires ahead of the two inaugural balls.
And now, Zuckerberg is reportedly on the hunt for a home in the capital city to get even closer to Trump.
Two people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times that Zuckerberg is looking to buy a property in Washington, D.C., to be closer to the Trump administration in an effort to influence its approach to the technology sector, particularly where regulation is concerned. One person told the Financial Times he has found a potential place.
Meta did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
This comes a week after Trump announced a $500 billion “Stargate Project,” to boost artificial intelligence infrastructure in the country. OpenAI and SoftBank are lead partners. Meta is very focused on AI. It recently announced that it would increase its annual spending to $65 billion, a lot of which would go toward expanding data centers that are needed to power its AI products.
Since election night, Zuckerberg has pivoted to gear up for the Trump 2.0 administration. He announced Facebook and Instagram would, like Musk’s X, ditch fact-checking and rely on community notes; Meta elected Dana White, a longtime friend of Trump, to its board; Meta named Joel Kaplan, a prominent Republican, as its new chief global affairs officer; and Zuckerberg appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast and discussed a need for “masculine energy” in the corporate world.
But Zuckerberg isn’t the only one flocking to the capital. Wealthy Trump appointees, who need or want to be near Trump, have either purchased homes or are on the hunt, too.
Cantor Fitzgerald chief executive Howard Lutnick, whom Trump tapped to be commerce secretary, purchased a $25 million home, the Wall Street Journal reported. Hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, who was confirmed as Treasury secretary, is looking for a home, people familiar told the Journal. Plus, investor John Phelan, Trump’s choice for Navy secretary, is looking.
Axios recently reported that PayPal alum David Sacks—whom Trump chose to be AI and crypto czar, a position that did not exist before—purchased a $10 million home in D.C.